Leben (22-9) has been a staple of the promotion since the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. He has fought 20 times in the Octagon, more than any other middleweight in UFC history.

With the UFC roster currently bursting at the seams with more than 400 fighters under contract, the pressure is mounting, even on the likes of a Chris Leben, to perform.

Leben has lost three of his last four fights in the Octagon, and enters the bout against Craig coming off of back-to-back losses to Mark Munoz and Derek Brunson.

Craig (8-1) stormed into the UFC with an undefeated record and dispatched of Kyle Noke and Rafael Natal for a strong start to his tenure. Ronny Markes, however, put a stop to his run, defeating Craig by unanimous decision at UFC on FX 7 in January of this year.

Leben vs. Craig will be part of the supporting cast for UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s next title defense. He puts his belt on the line against Chris Weidman in the UFC 162 main event.

hopefully this sets leben up to go on a tear again. dude is a bad ass.

BobLemons

I agree. I think Leben and Joe Silva should accept he has no hope of getting a title and make his match-ups based of what will be exciting fights rather than climbing the ladder. I love seeing Leben against guys who are happy to stand and trade.

Badguy

Well he has made his way down to the Craigs of the world, hmm real bad ass! Again someone tell me how this felony has a job still please!